Mark Wahlberg Says Shooting in Lowell Was the Only Option for The Fighter

At last night’s Cinema Society screening of The Fighter, Mark Wahlberg got plenty of praise, both for his starring performance and for the film itself, which he spent years trying to get made. The Fighter, a story of boxing brothers Micky Ward and Dicky Ecklund, explores the roles of family and sport in the working-class city of Lowell, Massachusetts. “I met him when I was 18, I was obviously a huge fan of his,” Wahlberg said of Ward. “He was one of the biggest sports heroes in Boston because he was from Boston. We had the Larry Birds of the world, the Carl Yastrzemskis, and Bobby Orr, but Micky Ward was and is Boston. That was always a big deal.”In his capacity as producer, Wahlberg saw the decision to film in Lowell as critical. “There was only one place to shoot the movie,” he declared. “You had to shoot the movie in Lowell. Lowell itself is such an important character in the film, you can’t not shoot the movie in Lowell. I don’t care what tax credits you’re getting anywhere else. It had to be shot there.”

Lowell may be Wahlberg’s turf, but by the end of the month-long shoot Amy Adams—who grew up in Colorado—felt reasonably at home as well. “The people were supportive, because this is a story that really elevates their community and paints them in a good light. And it should, because they’re really supportive, passionate people,” she said. “I was excited to have them be there to support us.”

The challenge of transforming into a living character like Eklund was embraced most emphatically by Christian Bale, who dropped every extra pound (and a few that weren’t so extra) in an Oscar-worthy effort to show his character’s descent into crack addiction. Entering the theater, he inadvertently revealed what may be the name of his weight-loss guru: beneath his leather jacket, his shirt was embroidered with the name DICK ECKLUND.

At the subsequent after-party, held at the top of the Standard Hotel, other cast members fell into the background as Wahlberg held court with Ryan Kavanaugh, head of Relativity media and a co-producer of the film. Within the confined V.I.P. area, the atmosphere of fraternal bliss seemed straight out of Wahlberg’s Entourage. Here the moneymen were no longer faceless entities, as Kavanaugh blended in seamlessly with stars like Val Kilmer and Owen Wilson, and joked around with pal Stewart Rahr, the pharmaceutical titan and friend to Hollywood whose famous yellow sunglasses have become a red-carpet staple. It was a scene that lacked the intensity of the The Fighter’s harrowing episodes but echoed its most essential point: never forget about your bros.